Vegetarian & Vegan in Sofia, Bulgaria
In this vegetarian and vegan guide to Sofia, we share where to find the best vegan Bulgarian food in Sofia. We munched on banitsa, filled our bellies with mish-mash and bob chorba, and explored local markets.
Veganuary
We took our vegetarian travels up a notch with our vegan travel challenge.
In January 2016, we took on a 31-day vegan travel challenge as part of Veganuary. We travelled vegan in Bulgaria and Macedonia, sourcing local vegan foods and gaining a whole new perspective on what being a vegan traveller is really like.
A Guide to Traditional Vegetarian and Vegan Food in Macedonia
When we were travelling vegan in Macedonia as part of our vegan travel challenge, we scoured menus for traditional Macedonian dishes that were naturally vegan – and surprisingly there are quite a few vegan options in Macedonian cuisine.
I have to admit though, we were also excited when we reverted to our vegetarian diet at the end of the challenge and were finally able to tuck into some tasty burek – a local breakfast pastry filled with spinach and cheese – that a friend of mine who’d previously travelled around the Balkans enthusiastically recommended to me.
Our Vegan Travel Challenge Has Ended, Here’s What We Learned
This January, we took up a 31-day vegan travel challenge as part of Veganuary. We kicked off our vegan challenge in Luke’s home town of Brighton before travelling vegan in Bulgaria and then Macedonia.
True to our word, we didn’t change our travel plans to fit in with our new vegan lifestyle, but instead took unplanned trips to wherever we chose. While Bulgaria and Macedonia certainly aren’t the most vegan friendly countries in the world, we learned a lot from our vegan travel experiences there.
Where to Eat Vegan in Plovdiv, Bulgaria
There was only one place to eat vegan in Plovdiv listed on HappyCow, but after a less than satisfying time being vegan in Bansko for almost a week, I was so excited to be heading to somewhere where eating vegan just might be even slightly better for our third week of Veganuary.
Travelling vegan in Plovdiv turned out to be quite a delight! After a lot of research and some false leads, it turns out that Plovdiv has not one but three vegan restaurants and a number of places with vegetarian and vegan options and even whole vegan menus.
Breaking Through & Travelling Vegan in Macedonia (Vegan Travel Challenge Week #4)
After a trying week #3 of Veganuary, you might be expecting me to say that week #4 was even more dire. It wasn’t. It was better, because we’ve just got used to it.
It feels like we’ve broken through a wall to a stage of indifference about dairy products this week. We’re not bothered that there’s no cheese, yoghurt, or eggs in our diet. Physically we feel very much the same as we did as when we were vegetarians.
We’re still travelling, hiking, exploring cities and working remotely with just as much energy.
Vegetarian and Vegan in Bansko, Bulgaria
Travelling vegan in Bansko was the most difficult part of our 31-day vegan travel challenge while we were in Bulgaria. We loved our escapades as vegans in Sofia, which turned out to be a much more vegetarian and vegan-friendly city than we had expected, but just 170km away in Bansko things were very different.
Bansko is a Bulgarian mountain town and a popular ski destination. It’s not known for being a veg-friendly travel destination — because it’s just not, but there was no way that our veganism was going to stop us from learning to ski in Bansko this trip. So we braved the cold and snow in search of places to eat vegan in Bansko.
A Very Hungry Veganuary (Vegan Travel Challenge Week #3)
I’d like to say that week #3 of our vegan travel challenge was as veggieful and exciting as weeks #1 and #2 of Veganuary, but it wouldn’t be true. Week #3 has been rammed with challenges, from trying to be more confident about saying we’re vegan to crazy cheese cravings. Actually, I was craving cheese like it was the end of the world.
Vegan in Bulgaria (Vegan Travel Challenge Week #2)
We’re halfway through our 31-day vegan travel challenge this Veganuary, and still going! Last weekend we flew out to Bulgaria, not a country known for it’s vegan cuisine, but so far we’ve been pleasantly surprised about how well being vegan in Bulgaria has gone.
Our second week of travelling vegan has been… more challenging. After an easy transition into veganism in Luke’s home town of Brighton during week 1, finally getting on the road and travelling in Bulgaria has meant that being vegan hasn’t been such smooth sailing.
Vegan Travel Bloggers Share their Favourite Travel Destinations
As our 30 day vegan travel challenge has gotten well under way, I decided to ask a bunch of my favourite vegan travel bloggers to share their favourite vegan travel destinations with me. I was surprised to find their top vegan travel destinations span all over, from Kuala Lumpur to Iceland, and Texas to Rome.
Luke and I never pick the countries we travel to based on our dietary requirements because if we’ve learned anything from travelling, it’s that there’s always something awesome to be discovered. But there’s no arguing that being vegan means that food is much harder to play by ear, so I was interested to hear about all the places that really shone our to vegan travellers as the best.
Careful, your stomach is about to start growling…
What We Ate & How It Went (Vegan Travel Challenge Week #1)
We’re one week into our 31-day vegan travel challenge as part of Veganuary. We’ve had ups and downs, we’ve experimented with new foods, we’ve stocked up on 2kg of nuts and we’ve raided Brighton‘s most delicious vegan food joints. Next we’re going to be travelling vegan in Bulgaria.
Why We’re Travelling Vegan This January (and Where We’re Going)
As someone who would gladly eat cheese and eggs three times a day, Luke is going to find veganism tough – but never one to turn down a challenge and an admirable boyfriend as ever, he’s committed to joining me for 30 days of vegan travel.
Inspired by fellow vegan travel bloggers Dale and Franca who went vegan last year for “Veganuary,” Luke and I are making the switch and will be travelling vegan for the month of January.
Are we going to make it? We’re pretty determined that we will. Will a life of vegan travel be for us? We don’t know.
